Monday, July 18, 2011

D&D Miniatures and Isle of Lewis Chess Pieces

Got two parcels in the mail today: the first contains three D&D miniatures...The first mini is that of a hippogriff which was the reason why I purchased the lot. While the wing feathers may not be as detailed as those on metal miniatures, I really like the pose and expression of the creature, and the size turns out to be about right.The wings are set to far in front (although that would be the correct anatomical position if such creatures did exist) to allow a rider, so I will have to rip them off and reposition them a little further back.

One paw is raised, which give scope for some scenery on the base.

I like the curl in its tail. Overall I think it has a very regal bearing, and makes a fitting mount for the army's commander.

The postage was the same for one mini or three, so I thought I might as well get two more. My third choice was the Bluespawn Stormlizard.

I had no idea how big the mini would be, but I like the way it looked, and thought that if it was small I would just use it for a monstrous mount, and if it was big I would mount a howdah on it.

As it turns out it's pretty much the size of a big rhino. I guess I can either sculpt a saddle on its back or a yoke and make it pull a chariot or warwagon. I haven't got an army to go with it currently so it will wait in the wings. I'm not too sure whether I will keep its ears, but again there is no rush to make that decision.

The second mini I decided on was the Dwarf Ancestor.

It's supposed to be some sort of living statue/guardian thing, but I think I will just base it on a plinth and use it as a statue. On retrospect I should have gotten a pair of them instead.

The shaft of the warhammer is curved - in reality there is no way you can carve a piece of rock like that and not have the thing break off, I think - so I will have to replace it with a lollipop stick.

The second parcel contained two plaster Isle of Lewis chess pieces.

Their size and style make them ideal as grand statues for my dwarves. They are not very well casted - they were not made to be wargame scenery but cheap art projects for children - and there are filling defects and bubbles; I will have to fill the bubbles with plaster filler myself, and I will scatter some bits of debris on their plinth bases to depict the bits that had fallen off the statues.

The real surprise about these pieces are actually on the back of them:

The Norse-Celtic patterns are just stunning!

If you have a fantasy barbarian or a dwarven army, I recommend you get some of these. The actual reproduction chess sets are expensive (and you probably wouldn't want to paint them over), but you can buy the moulds and cast them yourself, or buy cheap pieces like I did.